The present invention relates to data storage devices. In particular, the present invention relates to recording heads in data storage devices.
Data storage devices, such as magnetic, optical, and magneto-optical storage devices, read information stored on a medium by passing a read head close to the surface of the medium in order to sense an attribute of the media. For optical discs, the read head senses pits or depressions in the optical disc using a collimated light source, such as a laser. In magnetic disc drives, the read head senses the direction of localized magnetic moments on the disc.
In order to obtain accurate read data, storage devices typically fly the read head over the surface of the medium so that the read head is extremely close to the surface. This is accomplished by placing the read head on a slider having an air bearing surface that supports the slider and the read head on a cushion of air passing between the slider and the medium. The slider is also supported by an actuator arm, which is connected to the slider through a load beam and gimbal. The actuator arm is further connected to a servo motor that moves the arm and the slider in an arcuate path over the disc to position the head over a desired track.
In many disc drives, the slider and the head are unloaded from the disc when the disc drive is inactive. This typically involves swinging the slider outside of the outer circumference of the disc so that the actuator arm engages a loading ramp. The slider and head are reloaded on to the disc when the drive is reactivated.
During loading, the slider pivots freely on the gimbal and can become unstable as it enters the air stream above the disc. This instability can cause the edges and corners of the slider to impact the disc causing damage to the slider and the disc.
The amount of damage that occurs during impact is determined in part by the shape of the slider. Typically, sliders are created in a batch process that forms large numbers of sliders on a single wafer of material. The individual sliders are cut from the wafer of material along columns and rows. This cutting forms sharp edges and corners along the slider that are susceptible to damage because they form stress concentration points, which tend to fracture when the slider impacts the disc. Furthermore the sharp corners produce large amounts of disc damage when they impact the disc.
In addition, current magneto-optical sliders are prone to disc contact because they have elongated shapes in order to support optical lenses that are mounted on the slider. These elongated shapes bring the trailing edges of the sliders closer to the disc since most sliders fly with a xe2x80x9cheads-upxe2x80x9d attitude, such that the front edges of the sliders are further from the disc than the trailing edges. Because the trailing edges of current magneto-optical drives are closer to the disc, they are more likely to impact the disc.
A slider that carries a transducer in a storage device having a moving storage medium, includes a leading end, a trailing end, and a top area extending from the leading end to the trailing end. The top area is designed to face substantially away from the storage medium, while a bottom area of the slider, extending from the leading end to the trailing end, is designed to substantially face toward the storage medium. The bottom area is joined to the trailing end by a curved surface having a substantially constant radius of curvature from the trailing end to a point at least 0.025 millimeters away from the trailing end.
A method of manufacturing sliders of the present invention includes forming a plurality of sliders in a single structural piece with the sliders extending in rows and columns in the single structural piece. The single structural piece is cut along at least one slider boundary using a cutting tool having a curved surface such that a curved edge is formed along at least one slider. The single structural piece is then cut along additional slider boundaries to separate the sliders from each other